Astonishing winning images from Nikon’s Small World photography competition 2026

By Jack Guy

(CNN) — An image of ink droplets inside a printer has won first prize at the Nikon Small World photomicrography competition, which focuses on images taken through a microscope.

Ole Bielfeldt, a student and experimental photographer from Germany, took the photo using an imaging rig he built himself, according to a statement from the organizers published Wednesday.

Bielfeldt, who is based in Cologne, Germany, said he was inspired by the mystery of how inkjet printers transfer images onto paper so precisely.

“I think it was super interesting because I didn’t know how it really worked,” Bielfeldt said in the statement.

“It’s like it was magic, and I didn’t understand it, but now I do.”

Bielfeldt’s work won him the 52nd edition of the competition, and Eric Flem of Nikon Instruments said that his image “embodies what makes Nikon Small World so powerful: the intersection of microscope imaging, ingenuity and artistry.”

“By using a microscope objective in a different way, he transformed a familiar object into something altogether new and previously unseen,” Flem said in the statement.

“It is a reminder that the microscope is not only a scientific tool but also a creative one, capable of expanding how we see and imagine the world around us.”

Second place went to John-Oliver Dum for an image of a jumping spider with pollen, and third was awarded to Kaelin Wulf and Rachel Flannery for a photo of neurons inside an expanded mouse brain.

Nikon also runs the annual Small World in Motion video competition, which was embroiled in controversy this year.

In mid-October, the company announced that the winner had been disqualified after organizers concluded that his use of generative AI broke the rules.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.